Joan Engebretson, Connected Planet
Verizon executives could see their compensation plans modified if the Association of BellTel Retirees has its way. The 110,000-member organization comprised largely of Verizon retirees has a proxy resolution pending before Verizon shareholders that would limit performance share payouts for senior executives if the company’s performance is sub-par.
In an interview with Connected Planet, C. William Jones, president and executive director of the Association of BellTel Retirees, said that the organization compared the compensation plans of Verizon with 33 other companies that the carrier considers to be its peers, including carriers such as AT&T, Qwest, Sprint Nextel and Time Warner Cable, as well as other large companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Pfizer.
“Verizon is more generous than most of its peer group,” Jones said.
To its credit, Verizon puts a large percentage of executive compensation at risk by offering performance-dependent bonuses that are relatively large in comparison with salaries, said Jones. “The bad news is that the bar is set so low that just by falling out of bed, [executives] can earn millions of dollars and that doesn’t seem right.” …